


Three's Company

by Eupraxia (starfireone3)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, PolyFrogs, Polyamory, Valentines Day Fanworks Exchange 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 07:56:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3349529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfireone3/pseuds/Eupraxia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chowder just wanted to kick himself, because his two best friends were the hottest guys at Samwell (in his opinion) and he was doing his best not to perve over his friends (and he was failing spectacularly).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three's Company

**Author's Note:**

  * For [adimlittleplanet](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=adimlittleplanet).



> So this fic was for adimlittleplanet who wanted Chowder centric polyfrogs. I hope this is what you wanted.

Chowder bit his lip as he watched Dex’s back flex through his thin tee shirt as he set Chowder’s closet door back in it’s track. Linney, Chowder’s roommate, gave Chowder a look that meant he knew exactly what Chowder was looking at. Chowder widened his eyes at Linney repeatedly in a silent plea for Linney keep his mouth shut. He found Dex attractive, that was no big, there were a lot of attractive guys at Samwell, like Nursey. And Dex. And NurseyandDex. Chowder just wanted to kick himself, because his two best friends were the hottest guys at Samwell (in his opinion) and he was doing his best not to perve over his friends (and he was failing spectacularly). 

“Thanks, Dex.” Chowder grinned as Dex slid the fixed door back and forth on the track. “I owe you.”

“No you don’t.” Dex shook his head and his cheeks looked a little flushed, but it couldn’t have been a blush because when Dex blushed he blushed to the tips of his ears.

Chowder’s roommate sighed and flopped backwards on his bed.

“Let me at least get you a beer.” Chowder went over to the mini-fridge and pulled out two Natty Lights. On second thought, Chowder got a third to buy Linney’s silence. Chowder sighed at Dex standing awkwardly in the middle of his room. “Sit down, stay awhile.” Dex headed towards one of the chairs, the kind that came out of a box that you could buy from Target that was emblazened with the Sharks logo (definitely not Linney’s chair). “Oh, oh, oh, not there!” Chowder bounded into Dex’s path. “I’m pretty sure it’ll fall apart if you sit on it.” He finished apologetically.

“I can fix it for you.” Dex shrugged.

“Then I’d definitely owe you.” 

“No, you wouldn’t.” Dex smiled the half-smile, he smiled when he was laughing at himself and Chowder didn’t know what there was to laugh at. Linney, let out a muffled groan. “Anyway, I think I have to get going. I’ll get to that chair this weekend. I still haven’t done that coding homework we got. Can I take the beer with me?”

“Yeah, sure, of course.” Chowder nodded emphatically and Dex put the Natty Light in his bag. 

Dex disappeared down the hall and Linney let out a loud, exasperated groan.

“What?” Chowder turned to his roommate. 

Linney groaned again. 

“Was I that bad?” Chowder cringed. He knew he could be a little exuberant. It made keeping crushes subtle twice as hard. 

“I’m pretty sure, if I wasn’t here, you’d have offered to blow him in thanks.” Chowder cringed again at Linney’s pronouncement. “Ow, it’s not so bad.” Linney flapped a hand at the face Chowder was making. “I’m certain he would have said yes.”

“I think Dex likes girls, though.” Chowder scuffed the ground with his toe. As far as he knew Dex was straight and that sucked.

 

After classes the next day, Chowder was at the Haus, eating strawberry rhubarb pie in the kitchen, when Nursey came through with a handful of Queen Anne’s Lace, roots and all. 

“What’s that?” Chowder asked around a mouthful of pie.

“Oh, I heard some girls badmouthing the Haus. Saying it looked abandoned. But it’s the Haus.” Nursey squirmed like he’d been caught caring too much about any one thing. “I can’t let them badmouth the Haus. So I tried to weed. I didn’t get very far. I got these though.” He held out the flowers to Chowder.

“Those are really pretty.” Chowder smiled at the delicate looking blooms.

“Do you want them?” Nursey asked hesitant, almost shy, but Nursey was never shy, so Chowder thought it must be something else.

“Yeah, they’re nice,” Chowder’s eyes darted from the delicate looking flowers to Nursey’s pleased face. 

Nursey took a paper towel wet it and wrapped it around the roots of the Queen Anne’s Lace. Then he passed the flowers to Chowder with a smile. “Here, for you.”

“Thanks, Nursey,” Chowder beamed. 

Footsteps made them both turn their heads. Dex had entered, bookbag thrown over one shoulder.

“I should get back to attempting to weed.” Nursey slouched out of the kitchen, going out of his way to brush past Dex. In reality, it was less of a brush and more of a slow drag of arm, across a wide expanse of torso, that didn’t end until Dex pushed Nursey away, hand big and warm on his chest.

“Shove off, Nurse.” Dex frowned. Then he paused. “Are you weeding the lawn?”

“Yeah.” Nursey replied with a toss of his head, all practiced non-challance. 

“That’s ages overdue. I’ll help.” Dex dropped his bookbag and turned to follow Nursey. Over his shoulder he turned he told Chowder. “I’ll get your chair this weekend. I’ll even sit and stay after. Promise.”

Chowder watched the way Dex watched Nursey as he followed him out. Maybe Dex wasn’t as straight as he thought.

*

The next day, Chowder was in a poetry class that Nursey had talked him into taking. Nursey greeted him with a hug when Chowder reached the classroom a few minutes before class started. 

“You ready for today?” Nursey asked as he slouched into his seat. They were each supposed to have brought a poem they liked to share with the class, so they could talk about what things the poems had in common and what things made them unique. 

“I have my poem picked out, but knowing me I’ll rush through it.” Chowder pulled Denice Frohman’s poem “Weapons” out of his bag. Their teacher said they could bring in spoken word and Chowder had thought of this poem he had heard once, listening to spoken word in Nursey’s room. And Chowder knew that he wasn’t as intense as Ms. Frohman and he didn’t have her experience, but he’d driven through one of those neighborhoods in California when the bus made a wrong turn on the way to a game, and he remembers thinking what it must be like to go to the fortress school they passed. He didn’t think anyone would get what the poem was saying when it came from him.

Their teacher, Jenn, picked names out of a hat to decide the order and Nursey was first picked.

Nursey grinned again at that, used his easy loping stride to get to the front of the classroom. He stood at the front of the class shoulders filling out his shirt, making him look just as tall and broad as he was. Handsome, like something sculpted.

Nursey started easy. “I chose a poem by Pablo Neruda.” Then he locked eyes with Chowder.  
“It’s I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair.” He smiled but his smile wasn’t so loose anymore, it seem slow and it stretched across his face like something wanton. “I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair. / Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets. / Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day / I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.” Nursey’s voice had gone gravelly. It made something flip in Chowder’s belly. “I hunger for your sleek laugh, / your hands the color of a savage harvest, / hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails, / I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.” He was still looking at Chowder, too, and Chowder could feel his cheeks heat under Nursey’s gaze. Nursey’s eyes were like fire and if Chowder didn’t know any better he’d say there was a hungry gleam in Nursey’s eyes. “I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body, / the sovereign nose of your arrogant face, / I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,” Nursey got softer then and Chowder’s belly flipped again. He liked being the center of Nursey’s attention but it was embarrassing. Besides, he couldn’t react the way he wanted to even if Nursey was doing it on purpose; they were in class! “and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight, / hunting for you, for your hot heart, / like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.”

Chowder didn’t listen to things that Jenn pointed out about the poem as Nursey stalked his way back to his seat. Chowder watched Nursey slink into his seat. 

“Wha’did’ya think?” Nursey asked with his easy smile, but Chowder still felt like there were hot pins going through all of him. “I almost did one that was more romance, but I didn’t want to get sappy in front of the class.” Nursey tilted his chair back, putting one hand on the back of Chowder’s for balance. “Wha’did’ya think?”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Chowder stalled. He didn’t know what say. He couldn’t say how hearing Nursey say that poem made him felt. Not right here. “I liked it.” He choked out. “But come on, let’s pay attention, Danny’s about to do his poem.” 

And Nursey laughed, light and free. “Alright then.” And plopped his chair back down to pay attention.

And Chowder was plunged into confusion. He knew he like Dex and if what Linney said was true Dex liked him, but he liked Nursey too and if he was reading things right Nursey definitely liked him. He didn’t know how to choose. 

It came to him after practice. 

Nursey and Dex had miraculously not fought for the entire practice and had been civil through dinner with the team. And now in Chowder’s room, Chowder was riding the high on them getting along (and on having both of boys close). 

He should have known it couldn’t last.

“Move your foot.” Dex grunted at Nursey. Nursey didn’t move. “You’re foot is in my space. Move it.”

“It’s not in your space. Chill.” Nursey rolled his eyes pointedly at Dex and put his foot further into Dex’s space.

“I said move!” Dex put his book aside, ready for something. Chowder wasn’t sure what, but he didn’t want them to fight. 

Nursey put his foot on Dex’s leg. “I moved.” Nursey smirked at him.

“Move away!” Dex growled, though he hadn’t moved his leg or tried to shake Nursey off. “Get out of my space!”

Nursey got up and leaned over Dex, nose in Dex’s space. “I’m not in your space.”

Dex pushed Nursey’s face aside and leapt to his feet. “Fuck you. You’re always invading my space.”

“Oh, you’re going to push me?” Nursey pushed Dex again but when Dex moved back Nursey stayed in Dex’s space. Pushing in close, and Dex’s face was flushed and his ears were red and Nursey’s eyes had this shine to them. They were a hairs breadth away from each other, circling, and breathing heavy even though they hadn’t done anything. Chowder was immensely glad that Linney was at rehearsal because he’d definitely have something to say about this. 

Chowder wasn’t quite sure what happened next but Dex had grabbed Nursey, and Chowder found himself yelling, “Stop it, guys!” 

Both Dex and Nursey stopped, turned to look at Chowder. An apologetic look in their eyes. Dex was still holding tight to Nursey’s arm. 

“Sorry, man,” Nursey winced apologetically. 

“How can we make it up to you?” Dex offered the red around his ears definitely one of embarrasment.

“I want you to kiss.” Chowder bounced as he said it. He couldn’t quite contain the nervous energy inside him. 

Immediately, Dex’s eyes went wide and Nursey took a step away from Dex.

“Chowder—” Dex started.

But Nursey, smirked and cut him off, “Chill, Poindexter.” And then he promptly kissed Dex.

It wasn’t a tentative kiss. Nursey and Dex kissed like they fought. Their teeth clicked as they clashed and when Dex’s hands made their way to the front of Nursey’s shirt, Chowder thought Nursey was in for a shove. Instead Dex bodily pulled Nursey closer slotting his leg between Nursey’s as he deepened the kiss. Nursey’s hands roamed grasping and touching, running over Dex’s arms and back, before pulling out Dex’s tucked shirt to get his hands on skin. Dex gasped into the kiss when Nursey first got skin to skin contact. Chowder, already a little hot under the collar from the display felt like all his birthdays had come at once.

Nursey stopped the kiss surprising Dex, but then Nursey looked at Chowder and Dex followed his gaze to see Chowder standing there, pupils dilated, mouth open, watching, wanting. Nursey whispered something in Dex’s ear. Dex nodded. 

“Hey, Chowder.” Nursey called to his friend. “You want to come here?”

“Yeah. I would like that a lot. You don’t know how much I would like that.” Chowder started. It made Nursey smile, and Dex’s look turned decidedly fond.

“Then get over here.” Dex rolled his eyes but pulled Chowder in as soon as he was in arms reach, pressing a soft kiss to his jaw. 

“You should have said this is what you wanted.” Nursey used a finger to turn Chowder’s head toward him for a gentle, searching kiss. “If I had known Dex was up for it, I’d have been down.”

“I’ve always thought you were pretty incredible,” Dex shrugged, running his thumb along Nursey’s hairline. “Infuriating but incredible.”

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself.” Nursey moved in to kiss Dex again, keeping a hand on Chowder. “Plus, I like your ears.”

Dex tucked his chin, embarrassed. 

“You two are both awesome.” Chowder kissed Dex and Nursey in turn. “You’re my best friends and you’re the hottest guys on campus but can we get sappy after?” Dex chuckled and Nursey laughed. “Like, I feel like there are too many clothes. Way too many clothes.”

“Whatever you say, Chowder.” Dex and Nursey chorused and looked at each other before laughing.

“I think this is the starts of something beautiful.” Chowder grinned looking at Dex and Nursey, his boys. He couldn’t believe he got them both but here he was surrounded by the two them, starting something he could have only imagined before, but they were here and it was real and he felt wonderful.


End file.
